Laterite Leach Tests

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ANSTO Minerals Report C1206 to Lagoon Creek Resources – Westmoreland Deposits H1. INTRODUCTION Five Westmoreland uranium ores and two selected residues were provided for mineralogical characterisation. The mineralogy of these samples was investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis was carried out only on the residues. The following ore and residue samples have been investigated: • Junnagunna Lens • Garee Lower Lens • Garee Upper Lens • Garee (Redtree) Lens Composite • Jack Lens • Junnagunna - residue (LC 3 A) • Garee (Redtree) Composite - residue (LC 3 B) • Jack - residue (LC 12 C) H2. SCOPE OF WORK The aim of this study was to identify the relative concentration of the gangue minerals detected by XRD, and identification of the factors that limit uranium extraction during leaching. H3. ANALYSIS H3.1 X-Ray Diffraction Method The X-ray diffraction analyses of the pulverised samples were run on an X'pert Pro PANalytical X-ray diffractometer using Cu Kα radiation. Step scans were undertaken from 2 – 80º 2θ, with a step interval of 0.05º 2θ and 5 seconds count time per step. Bruker Eva search/match software was used for minerals identification. A quantitative XRD analysis software package, SIROQUANT TM , was used to determine the relative concentrations of the identified minerals. Results Ores: Quartz (SiO2) is the dominant gangue mineral in these ores (Appendix A – Figures A1-A5). Its relative concentrations vary from 88 to 92.3 wt% (Table H1). The minor constituents of these ores (less than 10% each) are illite ((K,H3O)(Al,Mg,Fe)2(Si,Al)4O10[(OH)2,(H2O)]), chamosite ((Fe 2+ ,Mg,Fe 3+ )5Al(Si3Al)O10(OH,O)8), hematite (Fe2O3), jarosite ((K,H3O)Fe3(SO4)2(OH)6), and hydroxylapatite (Ca5(PO4)3(OH)). Illite, hematite and jarosite are present in all ores. Chamosite was found in four ores, whereas hydroxylapatite was detected only in Junnagunna ore. The uranium-bearing minerals were not abundant enough to be detectable by XRD.
ANSTO Minerals Report C1206 to Lagoon Creek Resources – Westmoreland Deposits Residues: The mineralogy of the selected ores (Junnagunna, Garee (Redtree) Composite and Jack) have not changed significantly after leaching (Table H1 and Appendix A – Figures A6 and A7). Hydroxylapatite was not detected by XRD in the Junnagunna residue. It most likely dissolved during leaching. Table H1 The relative concentrations (wt%) of the minerals identified in the ores and their residues, determined by SIROQUANT TM using the XRD patterns Ores Junnagunna Garee Garee Redtree Jack Upper Lower Composite Chlorite 1.8 0.5 2.8 1.7 Hematite 0.5 1.4 0.8 1.1 0.8 Jarosite 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.9 0.6 Hydroxylapatite 0.8 Illite 8.0 6.6 6.8 6.6 6.4 Quartz 88.0 90.6 88.8 89.7 92.3 Residues Junnagunna Redtree Jack LC 3A LC 3B LC 12C Chlorite 2.6 2.2 Hematite 0.4 1.5 0.7 Jarosite 0.9 1.2 0.6 Hydroxylapatite Illite 11.3 11.5 3.7 Quartz 84.7 83.7 95.0 H3.2 Scanning Electron Microscopy Method The samples were mounted in epoxy resin and polished to a 1-micron diamond finish. Approximately 5 nm of carbon was evaporated onto the surfaces under vacuum to prevent charging. The SEM was a Zeiss Ultra Plus with an attached Oxford Instruments X-Max 80mm 2 SDD X-ray microanalysis system. The SEM was operated at an accelerating voltage of 15 kV. The X-ray microanalysis system enables microchemical characterisation of the sample. The images were acquired in backscattered electron imaging mode (BSE). This mode can enable compositional differences between/within grains to be observed. Images obtained from backscattered electrons are mean atomic number contrast images. Elements with high atomic number give brighter contrast (light grey) than those with low atomic number (dark grey). Results Junnagunna - residue (LC 3A): In addition to the gangue minerals identified by XRD, SEM analysis shows that other gangue minerals such as rutile/anatase (TiO2), zircon (ZrSiO4), pyrite (FeS2), monazite ((Ce,La,Nd,Th)PO4), florencite ((Ce,La)Al3(PO4)2(OH)6), galena (PbS), iron copper sulfide, copper sulfide and barite (BaSO4) were also present in this sample. Their abundance was too low to be detected by XRD. The residual uranium minerals consist of coffinite (U(SiO4)1-x(OH)4x), uranium phosphate, probably phosphuranylite (KCa(H3O)3(UO2)7(PO4)4O4·8(H2O)), and uraniferous zircon, where coffinite was the most common uranium mineral. They were enclosed in the quartz
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AUSTRALIAN NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND TECH
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Thickening and Vacuum Filtration Ev
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Thickener Test Summary for Laramide
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Thickener Test Summary for Laramide
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